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McLendon, and his coaches, never claimed he could anchor like Casey. Very few people in the football universe could. McLendon is a better penetrator which means he picks a side and tries to cut through the block on that side. If he guesses right he has the possibility of a splash play. If he guesses wrong he opens up a running lane. People kept saying that DL has to put new blood in the lineup and get rid of the old veterans. Well, we got rid of Casey and inserted McLendon just like most wanted. Did you think there wouldn't be any growing pains in doing this? There is ... but it will get better as the year goes on.

Well Ike, I was NEVER one of those guys. I wanted guys like Fangupo and T'amu to be the anchor. These idiots who want to see the lineman make the plays are the ones talking about Mclendon.

If you can stop the run to the degree that the great Steeler defense did, it makes playing defense a lot easier and a lot easier to create turnovers, because the opposing offense is one dimensional, give me Casey or Ngata any day over an attacking NT.

If you can stop the run to the degree that the great Steeler defense did, it makes playing defense a lot easier and a lot easier to create turnovers, because the opposing offense is one dimensional, give me Casey or Ngata any day over an attacking NT.

If you can stop the run to the degree that the great Steeler defense did, it makes playing defense a lot easier and a lot easier to create turnovers, because the opposing offense is one dimensional, give me Casey or Ngata any day over an attacking NT.

Pappy

it's been a few years since we created a ton of turnovers though.. didn't do it with Casey these last few years either.

it's been a few years since we created a ton of turnovers though.. didn't do it with Casey these last few years either.

Indirectly, we did with Casey (maybe not his last two years, but prior) because he made it nearly impossible to run inside, he simply couldn't be moved, the ILBs and Troy flow to the ball and were making tackles for no gain or short gains. Once you effectively eliminate one phase of an offense like that defending the pass allows you to attack and do things you may not want to do if a team is successfully rushing the football. Maybe as these three guys grow into their jobs having attacking linemen will work as well, that remains to be seen, but we do know that having the anchor worked pretty well for many years.

Indirectly, we did with Casey (maybe not his last two years, but prior) because he made it nearly impossible to run inside, he simply couldn't be moved, the ILBs and Troy flow to the ball and were making tackles for no gain or short gains. Once you effectively eliminate one phase of an offense like that defending the pass allows you to attack and do things you may not want to do if a team is successfully rushing the football. Maybe as these three guys grow into their jobs having attacking linemen will work as well, that remains to be seen, but we do know that having the anchor worked pretty well for many years.

I miss Big Snack in his prime.

Pappy

In his prime, Casey was a real pleasure to watch. In his earlier years, he had pretty good quickness to go with the power. I remember a game in particular against Denver when he absolutely owned their pro bowl center (Nalen?).

Seriously though, I can hold off a year on McClendon before passing full judgement on his game. I think he's going thru a bit of a transition as a starter. I remember Keisel having trouble with the transition and couldn't stop the run to save his life initially. Much like Keisel, McClendon is quick and he added some energy/quickness coming in for a series or two. But it's entirely different than being the guy. He's gotta hold up better at the point of attack and learn to control the gap rather than getting washed up in the trash. And he's gotta control/collapse the pocket when Woodley's firing off the edge to give him an angle to the QB.

I have seen some positives to McClendon's game. He's good with his hands and keeping linemen off him and working down the LOS to make plays. He's quick for a guy his size. My hope is he can eventually turn into a Chris Hope for us down the road. Very similar style of play. But he needs a little more strength and endurance. I think the one thing working against McClendon is his size. He looks about 6'5ish making it easier for linemen to get under him, get leverage, and move him vs Casey or Hokie. I think he needs to learn to get lower and get under the pads of the guys across from him. He also looks a little skinny for a NT and I wonder if he could add some more weight?